Wolves 0 Arsenal 3: Bassong sees early red as RVP nets another record in Gunners win

Robin van Persie added another record to his impressive collection with an impudent penalty on a night when a sending-off dominated this fixture for the second time this season.

The prolific Dutch striker has already eclipsed team-mate Thierry Henry to claim the most Premier League goals in a calendar year and he took advantage of a game-changing dismissal to carve his name in history again.

Dutch of class: Van Persie opens the scoring for Arsenal from the penalty spot

The ninth-minute spot-kick by the
Gunners forward means he has scored against all but two of the teams in
the top-flight this season - an achievement which gave him an equal
share of that record with Ian Wright, set 15 years ago.

Van Persie was in cheeky mood after
Sebastien Bassong was sent off for becoming entangled with Theo Walcott
in the ninth minute. The Holland star waited for Wolves keeper Wayne Hennessey to commit himself and chipped his spot-kick down the middle.

Van Persie has now only failed to score against Manchester City and Fulham this term and Wenger was gushing in his tribute.

'He's equalised the record,' said
Arsenal's boss. 'It's remarkable in the modern game, so I would like to
congratulate him. You can only score against 19 different opponents and
he has done so against 17. That's something sensational.

'He could have beaten it had he
scored against Manchester City but he hit the post twice and Thomas
Vermaelen saved one on the line!'

Going down: Sebastien Bassong was adjudged to have fouled Theo Walcott in the Wolves penalty area

While Wenger could afford to smile,
there had been an audible groan from the South Bank when Walcott was
interrupted in full flow.

Almost inevitably it was Van Persie whose first-time ball over the top sent the England forward scampering clear.

Bassong, on loan from Tottenham,
made a desperate lunge but that ended with Walcott falling to the
ground. Despite calls that he had taken a tumble too easily, it was
difficult to see how the winger could have stayed on his feet.

Early bath: Wolves were dealt a huge blow when Bassong was dismissed with just nine minutes gone

eferee Neil Swarbrick got that decision right but went on to upset both teams with an inconsistent display.

However, for Wolves the damage was
done. Van Persie converted from 12 yards and that set the scene for
frustrated home supporters to round on caretaker boss Terry Connor when
he chose to substitute midfielder David Davis to throw on another
centre-half, Christophe Berra.

Cries of 'You don't know what you're
doing' and 'That's why we're going down' rang out. 'Seeing as they
didn't know David before I introduced him to the team, I thought that
was a bit harsh,' said Connor, clearly miffed.

Arsenal took no notice of the furore.
They simply went back up the other end and added to their lead. It was
another one-two involving the same players that ended with Walcott
side-footing home. That made it 2-0 after 11 minutes.

With Wolves having conceded 21 goals
in their previous seven matches it was effectively game over. They made
a fight of it, though. Wojciech Szczesny saved twice - once from Kevin
Doyle and again from substitute Nenad Milijas.

Goal: Walcott celebrates his first-half strike at Molineux

As it was, Arsenal squandered two
chances with Van Persie and Aaron Ramsey the guilty parties early in the
second half before Yossi Benayoun fired into the bottom corner from the
edge of the area. Arsenal are now five points clear in third.

'It was overall a fantastic win,'
said Wenger. 'We played with the handbrake on a bit. I'm happy to be in
this position but also cautious. Having come from where we have, it
helps us to be very focused.'

On target: Benayoun scored Arsenal's third to put the result beyond doubt

Although Wolves are cast adrift, Connor refuses to throw in the towel. Although his corner might well be unfurling it.

'It was two lads racing for the
ball,' he said of Bassong's dismissal, the defining moment. 'The referee
decided it was a penalty which is obviously his prerogative. I didn't
think there was any intention to impede Theo so the red card was an
excessive punishment in my view.'

On the march: Arsenal have won nine of their last ten Premier League matches

Which brings us to the final point of
the evening. What did Wenger think about the FA's handling of Mario
Balotelli's challenge on Alex Song on Sunday?

'I still don't understand it,' he
said. 'If you look at the case of Balotelli, you have to accept the
explanation. If you look at Derry, you think, "OK, I accept that too''.
But when you put the two cases together it looks unbelievable that one
is suspended and the other isn't. But when the referee has seen the
incident, we cannot get over that rule.

'We should have an exceptional
committee of ethics to discuss it. The global situation does not make
sense. For people who love football it's difficult to understand.'

That sinking feeling: Connor's Wolves are facing relegation from the Premier League